If the World Should End in Fire
by clever.tricks
Summary: Raoul remembers the best of times.


_Author's Note: Written for Goldenlake SMACKDOWN, 2011. This fic was inspired by the song of the same name, by the Handsome Family. Introductory lyrics by the Handsome Family._

_If the world should end in fire  
>The oceans boiling into flame<br>I will watch the last sunrise  
>And think of all the sunny days<em>

War was fire. It consumed everything in its path, burning and choking the land and the soldiers in the heat of combustion. Mages hurled their own brand of fire, with its rainbow vibrancy, adding glitter distractions in the corner of your eyes, and destroying on a larger scale than any force of sword stroke. Blazebalm burned with the real thing, incinerating whole squads, and suffocating everyone else with the resultant smoke and screams. Fire blistered within the men, their blood ignited by fear and adrenaline; their muscles burning with desperate exhaustion. Spilled blood streamed out in hot rivers, melting the snow so it evaporated in delicate wisps of steam. The snow-dusted spruce trees and august mountains of Scanra, which had that morning been so picturesque, were now charred by war. Well, Raoul thought as he witnessed the inferno, perhaps it would still prove an appropriate subject for a picture; court painters loved this kind of thing. The glory of battle was a popular subject among those who had never seen it. He looked to the sky.

* * *

><p><em>Raoul lay his wet body down on the springtime grass. He curled his toes in the soft soil and stretched to get comfortable. The trees rustled in a sweet breeze that caressed his skin, cooling him where drops of water lingered. Diaphanous sunlight filtered through a canopy of leaves onto his closed eyelids. Gary clambered out of the stream after him to sit on the bank. They'd been swimming naked in the Royal Forest, even though they were adults and not really supposed to do that anymore.<em>

_"Ouch!"_

_Raoul opened his eyes to peer at Gary in request for an explanation of this rude disruption._

_"Sat on a thistle," Gary said, retrieving it and tossing it into the water. Raoul smiled and kissed it better before closing his eyes and laying back, his head in Gary's lap. Gary picked a flower, held it by the stem and brushed the velvety petals down Raoul's nose, slowly so Raoul could smell the honey. The flower tickled Raoul's lips, his eyelids, his forehead and temples, before moving from the face to his neck and shoulders. He was coated in a dusting of pollen, when Gary replaced the flower with his own lips, somehow even softer than the petals had been. He kissed Raoul everywhere except the lips, which he traced with the tip of his pinky finger. Raoul opened his mouth to suck and nip at the finger, but Gary removed it to massage Raoul's neck. Raoul opened his eyes to meet Gary's, which twinkled down at him teasingly. Raoul reached up a heavy arm to tug Gary's damp hair, but was chastised as Gary merely said, "Close your eyes," and continued his hypnotic stroking. Raoul was nearly asleep when Gary's lips condescended to meet his in an unexpected and awakening kiss. Later, Raoul revenged himself by splashing Gary with the icy stream water and springing a surprise kiss of his own._  
><em>Damp and grass-stained, they finally emerged from the forest. As they stepped into the open, they were met by a vast sky of soft pinks and gauzy mauves, and they stopped to watch the sun descend on a beautiful day.<em>

* * *

><p>Raoul watched as the sky caught fire, burning red as the sun died. Perhaps the Gods were blushing at human folly – Raoul knew little of the Gods. He watched the sun set. Perhaps he'd cling to life long enough to see it rise again, but he doubted it. For the first time, he didn't have the strength to get up and fight for his life, or the lives of his men. He was mortally wounded. He was bled out and broken, and he knew it. He watched the world burn, and thought about his best days. Then he closed his eyes, because he wanted the last thing he saw to be Gary.<p> 


End file.
